albums

Rip It Up, Issue 176, 1 March 1992, Page 30

albums

THE CRAMPS . Look Mom No Head! 7 (Big Beat) Dozens of albums down the track and the Cramps still don't know any , better, they're still the eternal teenage delinquents, dressing wild, drinking too much, tossing down the mind altering substances and keeping their thoughts firmly in the gutter. Not that J have anything against that sort of behaviour, it's just I've been listening to and

adoring the Cramps schtik for over a decade now, and it's wearing kind of thin.

Look Mom No Head! seems pretty much like standard Cramps fare, Ivy tosses out guitar solos stolen from records so obscure even the people who played on them don't remember, Lux does lots of howling and 'crazy' lyrics and a few nutty covers are included, most notably 'Miniskirt Blues' with Iggy Pop on backing vocals. It's just that all of this seems a little uninspired, maybe due to the new rhythm section . who look like Rocky Horror Picture Show casualties or maybe due to the fact the Cramps have trod this ground so many times they know the way with their eyes closed. Still, it's a damn sight better than Extreme or such like and what the hell else can a 6'2* man with a prediction for women's high heels, G-strings and depravity do for a job? KIRK GEE

MAIN SOURCE Breaking Atoms (Wild Pitch) Judging by the cover, I figured it to be one of those New Jack Swing meets hip hop combos that appear every so often. Once again I was totally lied to by an album cover Main Source are somewhat better than that. They rap in a fairly classic tough guy manner, fast and sort of heavy, the music and beats come more from the Native Tongues style, but heavy on the turntables. The result is quite cool in places, 'Just Hangin' Out' or 'Vamos A Rapiar'are raw, but smooth and funky all at once. They use live musicians in places which sounds fine too and seems to be a bit of a new thing for rap acts, which certainly can't hurt. Where most Wild Pitch stuff is downright horrible, they seem to have a winner with Breaking Atoms. It's not going to win any new fans for the genre, but those of us already happy to waste an afternoon ' listening to noisy rap music are going to enjoy this one. KIRK GEE THE CANDY SKINS Space I'm In (DGC) The Candy Skins boast a number of pluses in the pursuit of an English indie ■ pedigree; a name nicked from an old Fire Engines song, the currently compulsory wah-wah pedal — and a : singer who shares a surname with St Julian Cope. They're also plugged in to the prevailing 60s vibe — as > evidenced by their startlingly dreary

cover of Buffalo Springfield's 'For What It's Worth'. But it's easy to see why David Geffen signed them up to his American label. This is an album full of straightforward, highly melodic rock songs — take that and a few clear transatlantic leanings and they're made for the college radio springboard. Singer Nick Cope sounds variously like Shayne Carter without the dramatic range and an underfed Springsteen. His lyrics, "serious'' without being too specific, wander in search of the memorable turn of phrase, but never really seem to find it. Space I'm In is average enough to succeed quite nicely. Expect the next one to boast a widescreen production and lots of songs about being on the road in the American Midwest. RUSSELL BROWN THE GUESS WHO The Guess Who Collection (RCA) When we think of major rock bands during the period when the 60s became the 70s it's names like the Doors and Creedence Clearwater Revival which come readily to mind. Not the Guess Who. The collective rock consciousness recalls Guess Who as somewhat second rate. For by the late 60s/early 70s serious opinion had decided that any band which actively courted pop radio — and produced a whole bunch of catchy hit singles—must surely lack serious credibility.

The Guess Who had other strikes against them too, such as lacking a glamorous spokesman. And yes, any

band which came form Canada couldn't be taken too seriously, right? Wrong! While the Guess Who at their most mundane could be as boring as anyone else, at their peak they were the equal of their most vaunted peers. Moreover, they showed a variety of approach and style virtually unmatched at the time. 'American Wiman', their biggest hit, was hard-rocking guitar grur r . i, but they also loved a piano-enlivt ed boogie (as on 'Albert Flasher). Th an the ballad 'Sour Suite' hit big without any guitars at all. The Guess Who had hits utilising calypso ('Follow Your Daughter Home'), jazz ('Undun') and These Eyes' has always entered the repertoire of MOR lounge vocalists. Lyrically the Guess Who were just as wide ranging, showing their adeptness at subjects far beyond the sexual. 'Or!/ is about Paris airport, 'Guns, Guns, Guns' laments environmental despoliation, 'Sour Suite' broods about death and loss, while 'Running Back To Baskatoon' likens the craft of writing to farming and car maintenance. 1973's 'Glamour 80/, perhaps their last hit of enduring worth, took a well-aimed swipe at then current musical fashion: "For $25,000 you can look like a woman tonight". In the early 70s the Guess Who toured New Zealand as opening act for the hugely successful Three Dog Night. The scruffy Canadians lacked the polish of Three Dog Night, but they whipped the Western Springs crowd up to a level that left the headliners as an anti-climax. On record the Guess . Who could be garbage as well as great and at two CDs this Collection is at least one too many, but CD players are for programming and there's a , dozen or more tracks here (including '■ all those mentioned above) which I'd put alongside the best of the Doors or Creedence anytime.

PETER THOMSON